Archive of Our Own

“Are you ready, Mr. Shen?”

“Yes…”

“Shizun, you have to survive this! Please come back to me!”

“I know. I know. Don’t cry, Binghe.”

A serum to cure heavenly demon blood was successfully invented with help from Shang Qinghua. With the in his body as his sample, and a willingness to risk death, Mu Qingfang finally had finished the serum for the poison.

Shen Yuan, the Hang Zhou inspector was in a hospital for two days while his big dog, his student, loyally always stayed by his side.

For these two days, Shen Yuan repeatedly dreamt of the past.

Many years ago, the mansion of the millionaire named Tianlang Jun was on fire. Shen Yuan went to the scene and found a guy whose face was so similar to his student, Luo Binghe. The guy was severely hurt. He looked at him with the frightened eyes of an injured wild animal. Shen Yuan could almost touch the hateful sight glancing at him even though he didn’t know the cause. He thought this guy was a victim like the others so he called a medical unit to take him.

However, when the boy was conscious, he took a chance while Shen Yuan checked his injuries, using a red syringe to inject something in his body. The mysterious red fluid looked like blood. Shen Yuan didn’t know what it was but he could feel the pain from that foreign substance coursing through his body.

Then the guy said:

“You cannot run from me anymore, Shizun….”

That face and voice were the same as his student. But the twisted smile on the tyrannical face haunted his dreams for a long time. --- At that moment, his Luo Binghe suddenly appeared. The two guys with the same face were shocked by each other’s existence. His Luo Binghe suddenly attacked the other so the latter one left with his unhealed wounds.

Before he left, he said, “I’ll be back to pick you up.”

Shen Yuan knew that afterwards, the guy stepped back into the mafia world with the name Bingge.

“What’s this, all of this, Luo Binghe...” After fighting with his fluctuating body temperature, caused by the poison, Shen Yuan calmed himself down and asked his student.

“Shizun, can you promise that if I tell you everything, you still won’t abandon me?” the white lotus begged him.

Then he heard the unbelievable truth, the cause of the fire at Tianlang Jun’s mansion.

-----------------------------------

“Your life is whose?”

“Jun Shang’s.”

“Do you love Jun Shang?”

“Yes.”

“Will you die for Jun Shang?”

“We will die for Jun Shang.”

-----------------------------------

At the time when Zhou Bei Jiang was still a road gangster group, what could be bigger news than the death of the memorable millionaire. The old man was very generous. He donated his considerable wealth to charities, schools, and orphan homes. He adopted many children and raised them like his own children while never asking for anything in return. When this good man died, most people heard his story and cried.

The old man had a son named Tianlang Jun. He followed his father’s path, giving away money on donation and charity. The man was still very young and very handsome. The most important thing was that he’s still single. However, many women tried to catch him but failed.

There was a rumor that TianlangJun had a son, a weak boy who never stepped out of his home. No one had his picture, but everyone who had a chance to visit Tianlang Jun would say the boy was so pretty and was born to be the rightful heir.

The boy was so young. It was not weird if many visitors talked to him, gave him candies, played with him for a day, but he couldn’t remember anything about their meeting at all when they found each other again.

No one ever realized that the boys they met were not the same one.

-----------------------------------

Under the merciful millionaire’s mansion, there was a long pathway that brought the visitors to the underground secret chambers. The entrance and exit were tightly guarded, using high performance technology as opposed to the traditional style mansion above the ground.

The long pathway looked like it was routed to the treasury or the escape route for the rich man. However, the atmosphere there made it more like a cell rather than a safe place. Along the pathway, there were many rooms sealed separately by a mirror. Inside those rooms, the boys around the same age were grouped together like a factory product from the same lot. The left room was for the younger group, and vice versa for the right, from the toddlers, small kids, to teenagers. All of them had a significantly similar face like they were molded from the same block.

All of them were named Binghe, the name that Tianlang Jun used to introduce his weak son.

These boys looked like they could be Tianlang Jun’s real sons, if they weren’t tagged by a small metal plate at their wrists with different numbers.

Aside from the face, they also had one thing in common.

All of them were Jun Shang’s human spare.

Jun Shang or Tianlang Jun made many personal spares. He planned this for many years, starting from adopting a child, raising them to study in a field that could support his plan until they grew to become experts to serve him. All of these steps were to serve only one purpose.

To conquer the world forever.

Human spare was a kid that was born from Tianlang Jun’s loyal servants’ brain. They cloned Tianlang Jun’s cell and modified the genes within to make them healthier, stronger, more powerful than a particular human could compare.

These cloned kids had the same appearance as young Tianlang Jun. Their blood, organs, bones, all was to replace Tianlang Jun’s old or useless parts.

However, with a ton of uncontrollable factors, not a lot of them survived, and even fewer were strong enough to grow up. Some were stillborns; some were so weak and thus were destroyed; some of the remaining died during the replacement process.

Amongst the Binghes, the room nearest to the exit was for the eldest Binghes. There were only two left. The two Binghe were born with the same strange mark on his forehead. This was counted as a defect on the spares so technically they should die soon before this. However, one scientist asked to keep them as an example for other numerous experiments in this underground laboratory so they survived.

That scientist was Su XiYan. She raised the boys separately from the other spare groups, allowing them to read, learn, run, and not being only in the captive space like the other spares. The two Binghes looked like twins. They had intelligence, not like the others, so they chose who should be the older brother. So each named himself: Bingge and Bingmei, respectively.

Even though Su XiYan looked like a mother, but the boy couldn't call Jun Shang as their father. No matter then or now, Jun Shang’s always Jun Shang.

Will you die for Jun Shang?

We will die for Jun Shang.

The same question was asked everyday. The boy answered from the same script without knowing the meaning. The boy who suffered from many experiments and medicine everyday couldn’t understand the word ‘die for someone’.

-----------------------------------

What is ‘die’?

One day the boy asked this question. No one knew whether it came from Bingge or BingMei.

Su XiYan couldn’t answer. She never let the boy saw what happened to the other boys with the same face like them if they were chosen to serve Jun Shang. It was pain, not beautiful or peaceful; no wings or golden halo appeared whenever someone dies.

Then, it became the time for the two Binghes.

Tianlang Jun’s body slowly deteriorated. A new spare model wasn’t as good as the old version. So they called the defected two that Jun Shang allowed to live. Now the defected marks on their foreheads faded. A test result showed the high compatibility between these spares and Jun Shang’s body. Undoubtedly they became the target spares for next replacement.

Su XiYan escaped with them. The boys were just around fourteen. Both were innocent, never knowing how wicked the world they just left was. They never even realized that they were not ordinary humans born from a mother’s womb. Despite knowing nothing, the two Binghes followed Su XiYan to anywhere she went. They hid and escaped far, far away from Tianlang Jun’s sight but were finally captured at the end.

One of the captors caught one of the boys. The other was wrapped around in Su XiYan’s arms. So when she was shot to death, her last breath was used to push one of the Binghes to the Luo River under the bridge. The violent streams swallowed the boy’s body into the dark water in the night.

That lucky boy was BingMei. He was the boy that Shen Yuan found. ‘Luo’ became his surname as Luo Binghe.

What about the other Binghe’s fate? He was caught and saw his mother’s death in front of his own eyes. He didn’t know his younger brother’s fate. His body was dragged back to the place he escaped. Then he finally realized the difference between him and other humans, also knowing the meaning of ‘die’ he once asked his mom.

Actually, he couldn’t choose his own death.

He wasn’t a human, he never was. He had no human soul. He had no life of his own to die.

Bingge saw a piece of meat from the bodies that had the same face as his. Once these chunks were a boy like him before being torn apart and sliced to be a spare part.

He was not human… He was just a spare. All of the flesh and bones he had was to serve Jun Shang. That was the first time he finally understood what ‘die for Jun Shang’ meant.

The young boy feared. He was drained and a part of his body was cut. With the modified gene, his body could heal himself in a short time but he never relished the painful experience. He tried to escape again and again; undoubtedly, he failed. His body was always full of scars. Blood rinsed from a cut and the skin healed itself within several days. Every time his body was cut, he blamed all pain to Tianlang Jun.

No too long after that, his hate dwindled. He faced the pit of despair too many times. Trapped in the dark room, seeing the opened door luring him to escape, Binghe finally learnt helplessness.

Then he came to a conclusion that he wouldn’t run away anymore.

Even when the door was opened, Binghe no longer gave any shits about it.

Let them do whatever they want. One day he would die completely beyond repair. He just wished his death would come sooner.

-----------------------------------

One day Bingge caught a knife from the man in a white coat. He targeted Tianlang Jun, at least it would be a day he could choose his own death.

That day his leg and chest was shot. He was thrown on the floor and he collapsed. When he opened his eyes again, he was on a bed; hands and feet were bound, unable to move. He was dizzy and he could see only a white light above his head. His body was attached with many tubes and wires. The machine near his bed gave out a noisy sound. He wondered what’s the difference between the human and machine when both of them needed operation and maintenance like this. His lifespan was extended again even though he didn’t want it at all.

When he woke up again on his bed, there was no trace of alcohol like in the lab room. The door was closed, not open to lure him to escape again.

It was the same day that one man opened that door. He was in a group of captors who was after Su XiYan. He was the same man who captured the fourteen year old boy to see his mother shot to death. Yes, he was also the man Bingge looked at with resentful eyes.

The man’s face just looked clearer today under the light in his room. Bingge remembered he always stayed by Jun Shang’s side. What he saw now was the pristine face of a man.

The owner of that breath-taking face asked him,

“You want to die that much?”

“..Death is better than living like this.”

He answered like that.

Then he heard the small laugh near his ear.

“How pathetic.”

It’s the day he met Shen Qingqiu.

-----------------------------------

“How many times has he escaped? How many times was he captured? You people never learned. He will find a way to commit suicide himself. ”

“Then, what should we do?”

“If you want to tame a beast, let it release its energy. Make it tired so it doesn’t destroy your furniture. It’s the same way to pet something.”

That face was spotless. If it’s a man’s face, it was a beautiful as a woman’s. If it’s a woman’s, it was so unfriendly and cold. The long black hair framing the face made him look softer. The chest was flat, well, he should be a man. The person was taller than him, maybe because of their age gap. However he looked slim and delicate compared to Tianlang Jun’s bodyguards.

Shen Qingqiu’s cold eyes glanced at him.

“Just eat and sleep everyday for nothing. How can this become good meat?

“Qingqiu… this kid...”

“I’ll tame him.”

-----------------------------------

I’ll tame him.

From a spare to a pet, Bingge gradually learned the difference between these two words.

He once was a spare, just a lifeless object, waiting to be picked up as a replacement.

Shen Qingqiu shifted Bingge’s position from a spare to a dog. This person wasn’t like Su XiYan who was kind enough to check-up on his body and let him play all day. He taught him fighting skills with any weapons he could grab; this included bare hands and feet too. Shen Qingqiu said it’s a waste to let him do nothing in captivity. He shaped Bingge to be another loyal bodyguard for Jun Shang without fearing that the boy would take revenge. When Bingge tried to achieve that, Shen Qingqiu would interrupt him and beat him to near death. When Bingge’s face was on the dirty floor, he won’t lend any hand and laughed instead. Saying that with this poor skill, he couldn’t even hurt Jun Shang’s hair.

Shen Qingqiu never let up for a heartbroken fourteen year old boy. He didn’t care even when the white lotus face laid on the ground, coughing mud, bones cracked, and spitting blood. He always sneered at him, bullied him, and spit in his face if he failed. This teacher crushed Bingge mentally and physically. When Tianlang Jun saw his precious spare in a wrecked state, he spat furious fire to Shen Qingqiu.

But Shen Qingqiu indifferently answered.

“If he dies, we still have others.”

Bingge clearly heard that. Shen Qingqiu’s voice repeatedly echoed in his head.

Once he was ready to face death to escape from this place. Now he was calm enough to accept death from anything. He thought he didn’t care at all when or where it was his turn.

But-

Those words throw another flame in his chest, so hot it could burn his heart.

Still have others.

The picture of many unknown-fate Binghes popped up in his head. He always prayed that he wasn’t picked as the next one for replacement.

But this time, his eyes were so hot.

He didn’t want to be replaced.

Didn’t want to be a spare on the shelf.

No.

He would rather be a dog than a spare that anyone could replace.

-----------------------------------

Shen Qingqiu wasn’t a good teacher.

He treated Bingge as a punching bag rather than as a student. Bingge had to learn everything by himself, finding a chance to attack, listening to a step from the opponents, which point was perfect to attack, when he should avoid or when he should hide. The boy had less experience than his teacher had; even though his body could regenerate itself so fast, he still collapsed on the ground regularly.

However, every time he was in a wrecked state, face kissing his teacher’s boots like he no longer had any dignity left in him-

He would recall those words.

Still have others.

Shen Qingqiu was definitely not a good teacher. But he taught something that Bingge couldn’t learn from others.

He wanted to surpass this man. He wanted to make this person look at him. He wanted to be the only Binghe that no one could replace.

When Bingge came back from Luo River, he cried from losing his mother and brother at the same time. When he knew about his bloodline, he was frustrated, angry, and destroyed everything in his sight. When he accepted his own death, he didn’t give a shit about anything like a soulless broken doll. Now he could smile like any other human.

And the first one who gave that to was Shen Qingqiu.

He could remember that time well. Shen Qingqiu’s face was twisted like he was stabbed. Whenever he looked back at that scene, Binghe’s chest was brimming with a hot feeling, so new, he had never experienced this before. Like when the time that the other said there were many spares for his place, the boy gradually learned what a normal human should be. It’s hard for him to understand the warmth in his chest.

-----------------------------------

Three years had passed.

Now Bingge’s seventeen. He’s calm, polite, wise and educated as much as a kid who learned everything from a book could be.

And he didn’t want to run away anymore.

He served Jun Shang side by side as a bodyguard. As others knew about the weak son of Tianlang Jun, Bingge was thought of as the heir of this wealthy family.

So ridiculous. Bingge laughed silently. These people never knew any of this merciful person’s ruthless acts.

Jun Shang always had at least three men around him. Every one of them knew how to fight, if not with weapons then bare hands and feet. One of them was a doctor. Bingge could follow Jun Shang everywhere as a bodyguard and as a portable spare, better than any blood bags. Shen Qingqiu was on the right; he was on the left. When Tianlang Jun called him, he would light up his pipe. Actually, life like this wasn’t that bad. It’s better than a spare on the shelf in the underground lab.

“Well, is receiving fondness good enough for you?”

Shen Qingqiu said while swinging a sword at him. Bingge didn’t lose his track. He listened to the other’s derision-filled voice while using a weapon in his hand to defend himself.

“Shizun...You mean Jun Shang?”

“Who else?” Shen Qingqiu sneered. Bingge now was as tall as him. The boy who once collapsed on the ground now could shield against all attack without fail. Bingge slightly bend his neck, smiling and looking into the other’s eyes. “What does he plan to do next?”

“Use your brain, brat.”

“That’s so difficult…. I guess…”

Bingge bent his body and caught the other’s wrist. His grip was so tight Shen Qingqiu frowned. Bingge smelled the scent from his hair while silently whispering, not allowing any other observers to hear their talk.

“That body is rotting soon?”

Shen Qingqiu used his elbow to nudge him. Bingge faked a painful cry and let go of his wrist. He saw Shen Qingqiu secretly send a signal by picking up his own collar. Others didn’t know their body language.

Bingge waited for this day for a long time.

He won’t run away anymore.

And he would own everything that was supposed to be his.

Jun Shang’s body couldn’t transfer any organ or substances anymore. He used to be a middle-aged man, raising a boy to grow up. Now he was old, so old but he never abandoned the thought to be immortal.

Tianlang Jun didn’t have a real heir. The people that could be considered as his kids were those Binghes, and the eldest Binghe was the one beside him. Recently, he treated Bingge very well. Let Bingge follow him everywhere and let Bingge access any important information that he never let anyone else knew. Bingge had a good chance to study his enormous research projects to serve Jun Shang’s immortal plan.

Bingge once doubted why those experts and specialists admitted their fates to serve his nearly dying and daydreaming Jun Shang.

Then he learned about the Heavenly Demon Blood.

-----------------------------------

The Heavenly Demon Blood was one of the experiments on implementing a bio-tracker. There were a lot of weird experiments in this underground lab. Bingge dug into a lot of info there. He had Shen Qingqiu and some fellows here to support his plan. He found Tianlang Jun’s treatment history that revealed the shocking truth.

The current Tianlang Jun wasn’t the real Tianlang Jun.

The Tianlang Jun now was the millionaire father of the real owner of the name.

A decade ago, Jun Shang’s body couldn’t be compatible with his own cloning process. Many spares died before growing old enough to be used while the boss’ body gradually decayed. He suffered from many diseases and was an assassination target for his foes. These caused him many injuries so he had to take an organ from his son, Tianlang Jun.

This man had no morals. He took away his own son’s flesh and blood till nothing was left to his grave. All parts were completely used to fix the man’s wrecked body until the point that no one can distinguish him and his son, then he faked his own death to continue living in his son’s name, Tianlang Jun.

However, the sewed body under the clothes were not perfectly blended. Binghes were born to fix the problems within this body. The man had to add more and more of Tianlang Jun’s flesh forever.

It wasn’t like he never thought about moving his memory, intelligence, skill and soul to another body. However, the concept wasn’t new but there’s no real possible solution. This man could not bet to lose his soul to the unreliable experiment.

He created a new identity. He couldn’t be a hundred year old Jun Shang… The heir position such as Binghe’s was necessary so he let Binghe stay by his side. When everything’s perfectly prepared, the eldest Binghe would be sliced to fix his body like his son. Then it’s an era of a new Jun Shang named Binghe.

This was a long planned scheme. The men in his team needed to be the right people. But how could he get unconditional loyalty from fear?

Tianlang Jun’s scientists kept a secret of Jun Shang’s body. They worked for him but also feared him. Everyone knew this man’s greed and immorality. He could kill even his own son. Tianlang Jun had to make these people loyal to him. This thought brought to a human tracker research. Most of his black money was spent on these projects; the only successful one was the Heavenly Demon Blood.

The Heavenly Demon Blood was a bio tracker. To put it briefly, if the target is alive, no matter how far that person went, they would definitely appear in the tracking system.

Tianlang Jun’s a scumbag. He was afraid the world would betray him so he set the tracking system throughout the land. If that person was still alive, he would definitely find him or her at last. The blood tracker wasn’t just sending a signal, it also could be remotely controlled by Tianlang Jun whether to make them stop breathing or die instantly.

The Heavenly Demon Blood was useful but it’s hard to produce. Its components were limited. However, there weren’t much people Jun Shang needed to track, only the old members of the gang and some of the projects’ brain scientists.

These few people included Su XiYan. Bingge just realized now that his mother was so kind to him. Su XiYan was a lover of the real Tianlang Jun. Her father-in-law killed her husband, to be specific -his son- , and took all that remained to fulfill his greed, also stealing his son’s life. This could be called a revenge act.

Just kill this person, he could get revenge for his mom and his brother, and he could also get what he wanted.

Bingge secretly looked at Shen Qingqiu who stood beside Jun Shang. Tianlang Jun now could only travel by a wheelchair like the old man should be. However, Bingge knew well that the long robe hid poisons and weapons. His bodyguards were also obstacles. It wasn't like he had a chance to kill him easily.

He would never have thought up of this daydream...

If not because…

His eyes met Shen Qingqiu’s. He sent him a smile with eyes full of desire.

Shizun was on his side.

-----------------------------------

“Binghe.”

It’s the first time Jun Shang called his name. That voice was weirdly hoarse as though he tried to look merciful towards his human spare part.

This Binghe now perfectly reached the age to be a new Jun Shang.

“Yes, Jun Shang.”

“Come here.”

The old man called. Bingge followed his command, kneeling respectfully. Jun Shang’s voice flowed through his ears, praising his work like a real father that cherished his son. The one bodyguard moved Jun Shang’s wheelchair throughout the conversation. Bingge followed them calmly. Now the three were on the pathway to Jun Shang’s treasure room. Some of the decorations here were stolen from the museum. Tianlang Jun wasn’t just obsessed with the immortal experiment, he also buried himself in mountains of luxuries and glittering things like a dragon protecting its golds. Bingge enjoyed the shining jewelry around him while nodding at all the questions Jun Shang asked. Then his eyes were caught by the sword in the glass case.

The sword was so thin. Its blade was so light like a cricket’s wing. It attracted him for a while so he couldn’t hear Jun Shang’s voice.

“This sword was named XinMo. Jun Shang got it the first time he claimed the throne of the mafia world.” The man behind the wheelchair explained. “Jun Shang, looks like Binghe is very interested with this sword.”

“XinMo? Ah… long time no see old friend.” The old man made a short laugh before he coughed. The bodyguard quickly wiped the blood from his face. Binghe felt a slight annoyance from not hearing more information about this sword. XinMo was kept in its sheath. At this time when people preferred a gun to a sword, the tale of the sword fighting against the gun was like a fairy tale.

He pretended he lost interest in this sword when he followed the conversation. Now it was a question that he repeatedly heard again and again when he was once a spare.

“Binghe, will you die for father?”

Will you die for Jun Shang?

We will die for Jun Shang.

Now it’s not Jun Shang but father.

How fascinating. Maybe it was because he wasn’t a poor boy with a weak body anymore.

The young man’s eyes focused at the sword even when he kneeled to kiss the ring on the old man’s knuckle before he shifted his gaze to the man behind the wheelchair.

“Yes, father.”

He said while his eyes followed the snake that slowly slithering out of that man’s robe to Jun Shang’s body. Tianlang Jun felt the cold scales wrapped around his neck. He screamed; hands tried to push the animal away. When he tried to reach for a gun in his robe, Binghe shot his hand, followed by his legs, even though the man was on the wheelchair for many years but Binghe never gave any possibility for him to fight back. When the old man collapsed on the carpet, he gave him another shot on his torso.

The shooting sounds were loud. The bullets fell on the carpet. The plan was perfect as Tianlang Jun’s treasure chamber was the secret room in which not many people could access. Any voice was sealed in the room. He heard the resentful and angry shouts from the old man. That person still tried to fight; his finger pressed a button under his robe. Then the corner of Bingge’s lips raised.

He knew better than anyone. This old man’s body was attached with all sensors. If his body temperature changed, heart rate dropped, or anything that told his guards that their Jun Shang was in danger, these signals would call the emergency team.

But the door was locked shut. The three bodyguards who should stay by Jun Shang’s side were reduced to one.

Shen Qingqiu.

“You all...traitors...”

Jun Shang gritted his teeth but his eyes still shone a hateful light. Bingge used his boots to open the old man’s robe. There were a lot of other weapons and tools. He did the right thing, shooting the hands first.

Tianlang Jun hadn’t given up yet, as though he believed he could kill Bingge with those eyes. He still smiled painfully like he’s waiting for something.

But nothing happened.

“You want to activate the blood parasite in me? Good news, it’s ineffective now.”

Then Bingge smiled while watching more snakes slithering around Jun Shang. He turned his back towards that man while placing his hand on the sword’s mirror case. This pleased his eyes more than the nearly dead body on the ground.

“--! When did you all --!!”

The man behind the wheelchair, the owner of those snakes, looked at him with a cold glance before he spoke.

“Since the day you killed real the Tianlang Jun.”

The man answered.

There were more shooting sounds after that. All bullets and snake’ fangs combined on the old man’s body with his son’s face. No loyal servants were left around; actually, no one even knew if he really had any. It’s the best end for a man like him.

When all sounds became silent, Binghe looked at the man behind the wheelchair. The man also directed his eyes to the body full of shots and snake bites.

Binghe gave him a soft smile before shooting him, one bullet to death, sending him to follow his one and only Jun Shang, even if it was a decade too late after his death.

-----------------------------------

Bingge watched the fire burned the mansion, from the underground lab to the upper floors. His men, weapons, money and any other important things were moved beforehand. The escape route was prepared. His car was ready. This was just a starting point. All of this couldn’t have happened if he didn’t have the man who now stood beside him.

Shizun.

Shen Qingqiu’s young face was covered by the red light of the flame. The warm tone on his always cold and indifferent face made him more appealing.

I finally got you.

Bingge’s heartbeat calmed down by just looking at that face. He killed all other spares. There was no other Binghe left in this world. He would be the one and only Binghe, not a spare for anyone and not a spot anyone could replace.

He set his eyes on the other’s side profile for a while, losing all track of time, before Shen Qingqiu’s voice brought him back to reality.

“Though this place is far from the town, such big fire will call many people.”

Always working.

He still had a lot of questions to ask.

Why had Shizun helped him? Why Shizun didn’t watch Jun Shang’s death together? Why…

Why are you smiling like this.

Bingge was hypnotized by that smile. He couldn’t stop his hand from grabbing the other’s shoulder into his arms. Hearing the fire licking the building until it collapsed to the ground, he tightened his grip like he was afraid this person would get hurt. The guy buried his face to his teacher’s shoulder, smelling his scent to calm his heart down.

Bingge felt a light touch on his back like his feelings were accepted. When he turned his face up, he was surprised again by Shen Qingqiu’s hand on his cheek.

Then their lips touch each other’s.

The tender feeling came with a huge pain on his back. It’s so sharp - a knife? - he didn’t have a clear mind to think. He was stabbed from behind - his chest - ribcage - belly - ah-- The knife dragged towards his heart. A pool of his own blood expanded from a small circle to a wide area covering his entire back and chest. He didn’t know what happened. He didn’t know what to do. He was still confused while seeing the other took a knife away with a splash of his blood.

“S...Shizun…?”

When the warm hug left his body, the pain suddenly swallowed him. He collapsed on the ground, again, like when they’re practising together, but he was never stabbed to death like this. When his face touched the ground, he could see only his Shizun’s back walking away.

Bingge caught all his remaining conscious to cry out.

“Shizun!!!”

The scene blurred and darkened, the light in his eyes slowly dimming, before he woke up to see the face of Shizun who abandoned him.

“You cannot run from me anymore, Shizun…”

-----------------------------------

Shen Yuan found the guy in the ruined and burnt mansion. He was so careless to be injected with Heavenly Demon Blood by that guy. At first, he didn’t know what it was. But when Bing-ge left, he felt his body become nervous, restless; he couldn’t control his own breath, like this body was no longer his. Shen Yuan tried to find a way to recover but neither medicines nor operations could help. Shang Qinghua’s volunteer was the missing piece for the treatment he craved for.

What about Bing-ge?

Bing-ge investigated his past for a while till he concluded that this inspector Shen Yuan, even with the same face, wasn’t his Shizun.

Where was that Shen Qingqiu?

The name Jun Shang was usually a name for someone who wanted to defy the heaven. Maybe this Jun Shang was the only one who wanted to flip the sky to the earth just to find one particular man.

Would this teacher and student meet again? Only the heavens knew.

[ End ]